"For the second year in a row, the record of 500,000 newly installed units worldwide has been surpassed," says Marina Bill, President of the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). "In 2023, the global market for industrial robots is expected to grow by 7% to more than 590,000 units."

The 15 largest markets in 2022 (annual installations)

© IFR

The Republic of Korea recorded growth of 1%, with installations reaching 31,716 units in 2022, the second consecutive year of slight growth after four years of declining installations. The Republic of Korea remains the fourth largest robot market in the world, after the United States, Japan and China.
The European Union remains the second largest market worldwide (70,781 units; +5%) in 2022. With a market share of 36% within the EU, Germany is one of the world's five leading manufacturing countries. Installations in 2022 fell slightly by 1% to 25,636 units. Italy follows with an EU market share of 16% - installations increased by 8% to 11,475 units. The third-largest EU market, France, recorded a regional market share of 10% and grew by 13%: 7,380 industrial robots were newly installed here in 2022.

In the UK, installations of industrial robots rose by 3% to 2,534 units in 2022 following Brexit. This is less than a tenth of sales in Germany.

In America, installations rose by 8% to 56,053 units in 2022 - this even exceeded the peak value from the previous record year of 2018 (55,212 units). The United States, the largest market in the region, accounted for 71% of installations in 2022, with the total number rising by 10% to 39,576 units. This was only just short of the peak figure of 40,373 units in the USA in 2018. The automotive industry was the biggest growth driver with a sharp increase of 47% (14,472 units) in installations. The automotive industry's market share is 37%, followed by the metal and mechanical engineering industry (3,900 units) and the electrical/electronics industry (3,732 units).

The two other major markets are Mexico - where installations rose by 13% (6,000 units) - and Canada, where demand fell by 24% (3,223 units). This was the result of weakening demand from the automotive industry - the strongest customer segment.

As an important production location for vehicles and vehicle parts, Brazil has great potential for automation - according to the International Automobile Manufacturers Association (OICA), a total of 2.4 million vehicles were produced here in 2022. However, the number of annual installations has grown rather slowly so far, with cyclical ups and downs. In 2022, 1,858 robots were installed. This was 4% more than in the previous year.

Outlook

Annual installations including forecast until 2026

© IFR

The global economy has cooled down in the current financial year 2023. However, the IFR Statistical Department does not expect robot installations to follow this general trend in 2023. And the growth trend is also likely to continue in the long term: According to the forecast, the mark of 600,000 installed units per year should be reached worldwide in 2024.